1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to gowns for use in surgical operations where sterility is required and, more particularly, to a belt system for such a gown.
2. Background Art
Most surgical gowns are of the rear-closure type in order to insure the sterility of the gown and to provide better liquid and bacterial strikethrough resistance in the front portion of the gown. The gown body is generally constructed with a front portion and two rear or back margins, the back margins being of sufficient width to wrap around the back of the wearer and to partially overlap each other when the gown is secured on the wearer. The gown usually has a belt system in order to so secure the gown on the wearer.
Donning such a rear-closure gown presents a sterility problem because proper sterile technique dictates that the wearer may not touch the back margins nor reach behind the back. In addition, any part of the gown below operating table level is considered a nonsterile zone, so that if the belt falls below operating table level or the wearer touches the belt below operating table level, the gown is considered contaminated and the entire gown must be removed and a new one donned. Therefore, the wearer should keep his hands above about waist level and in front.
Because of the sterility problems associated with rear-closure gowns, the belt system must be secured to the front of the gown. This requirement leads to severe design problems. The belting system must not only provide a positive closure for the back of the gown, but it must also comply with all of the sterility requirements, remain easy to don, and provide comfort for the wearer.
One type of belt system that is generally known in the art is a two-piece belt system in which each of two discrete belts have one fixed end and one free end. One belt is generally attached to the right back margin of the gown, and the other is attached to the wearer's left on the front portion of the gown. The righthand belt section is brought around the back of the gown and is tied to the lefthand belt section on the left side of the gown.
Two-piece-belt systems offer the advantage of allowing both sterile and nonsterile personnel to assist the wearer in donning the gown. Sterile assistance is made possible by the use of a transfer device attached to front of the gown, such that the sterile assistant need only touch the transfer device, not the gown. Examples of this type of belt system are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,596 issued Feb. 3, 1976, to Allen et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,207 issued Apr. 26, 1977, to Newman et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,818 issued Mar. 17, 1981, to Crowley et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,986 issued Feb. 8, 1983, to Wichman; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,451,931 issued June 5, 1984, to Wichman.
However, two-piece-belt systems also have several disadvantages. When a two-piece belt is tied around the waist, excess gown fabric gathers at the sides and the front of the gown because of the fixed ends. This "blousing" can compromise sterile technique if the excess fabric touches a nonsterile object. Blousing can also cause the back gown edge to gap open and expose, for example, the wearer's unsterile scrub suit. This gathering of fabric also tends to decrease the comfort of the wearer.
Another disadvantage of two-piece-belt systems is that because the ends of each belt are permanently secured to the gown body, the fixed ends of the belt may tear out if the belt is tightly cinched around the waist when the wearer bends at the waist. These tear-outs can effect the sterility of the gown by allowing liquid and bacterial strikethrough.
Another disadvantage of two-piece-belt systems is that because the two belts are permanently secured to the gown body, there can be no adjustment of the belt system to accommodate different size wearers thereby reducing the comfort of the gown. The fixed ends of the belt also do not allow vertical or circumferential adjustment of the belt around the wearer's waist.
One-piece-belt systems have been used to try to solve some of the tear-out and comfort problems. Examples of one-piece-belt systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,569 issued Dec. 26, 1967, to Rotanz et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,818 issued July 27, 1971, to Planner; U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,290 issued Mar. 14, 1972, to Hartigan; U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,999 issued Mar. 27, 1973, to Goya et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,757 issued Feb. 11, 1975 issued to Hartigan; U.S. Pat. No. 4,075,716 issued Feb. 28, 1978, to Collins. However, a major ongoing disadvantage of one-piece belts is that only a nonsterile person can assist the wearer. That is, because one end of the belt is attached to the back margin of the gown, a nonsterile area, a sterile assistant would compromise their own sterility by touching the back margin to help secure the belt. For this same reason, the wearer cannot self-belt.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a rear-closure surgical gown having a novel one-piece-belt system.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a rear-closure surgical gown having a one-piece-belt system allowing either sterile or nonsterile assistance or self-gowning.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a rear-closure surgical gown having a one-piece-belt system which provides more comfort to the wearer by providing circumferential and vertical freedom of the belt while maintaining the required sterility of the gown.
It is another object of this invention to provide a rear-closure surgical gown having a one-piece-belt system which provides a positive closure for the back of the gown while eliminating blousing of the fabric about the middle of gown.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a rear-closure surgical gown having a one-piece-belt system which is easy to don while insuring the sterility of the gown.
It is a yet another object of this invention to eliminate tear-outs associated with surgical belts by providing a completely detachable belt for a rear-closure surgical gown.